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The Call of The Wildand WhiTe fang

Comprehension Guideby Ned Bustard

www.VeritasPress.com(800) 922-5082

First Edition 2007

Copyright © 2007 Veritas Press1805 Olde Homestead Lane

Lancaster, PA 17601ISBN 978-1-932168-72-3

Special thanks to Jonathan Daughtrey for his contributions to this guide.

All rights reserved. Permission is granted to make unlimited photocopies of this entire manual for the school or homeschool that purchased this manual. Otherwise, no part of this book may be reproduced without permission from Veritas Press, except by a reviewer who may quote brief passages in a review; nor may any part of this book be reproduced, stored

in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without prior permission from Veritas Press.

Printed in the United States of America.

The Call of the Wild and White Fang 3

This guide is intended to help you study, understand and enjoy The Call of the Wild and White Fang. You might ask if a guide is really necessary to read a book. Is the student not just working to improve reading skills while being taught to enjoy reading a book? Certainly it is the case that the more a child reads, the more he should improve his skills, but quantity is not the only issue. Once a child has received adequate pho-netic training he should learn how to read a book. Most educators using this guide will be teaching children in the grammar stage, generally understood to be during the elementary years in a classical education. (For a thorough understanding of classical Christian education we recommend reading Recovering the Lost Tools of Learning or The Case for Classical Christian Education, both by Douglas Wilson.) The basic goals of read-ing in the grammar stage are as follows:

The student should be able to: 1. Fluently read a given selection orally.2. Show an increased desire for reading.3. Show comprehension on a literal and

inferential level.4. Demonstrate an increased vocabulary.5. Identify basic biblical values in the

literature being read.6. Identify various styles (myths, poems,

fantasy, fiction, nonfiction, etc.)

Answers to the questions are found in the back of the guide. Although the answers in the guide appear in an abbreviated form, the students’ answers should be in complete sen-tences, and they should restate the question in their answer.

Example:Question: Why did Grey Beaver consent to sell White Fang, and for

what?Answer: Grey Beaver consented to sell White Fang because Beauty

Smith made Grey Beaver a drunk. In the end Grey Beaver gave up White Fang for alcohol.

Such writing practice trains the student to answer thoroughly, completely and with proper grammar. Another reason is to encour-age integration. We want students to under-stand that how they write something is as important as what they write. You may wonder how to grade the stu-dent’s work in this guide. Keep it simple. Unless otherwise indicated you should assume that each question is worth five points.

The Call of The Wild and WhiTe fangHow to Use this Guide


Call of The WildInto the Primitive

1. What troubling changes had occurred in the world of which Buck was unaware?

2. Who was the “aristocrat” on Judge Miller’s place?

3. Although Buck credited men with having wisdom that outreached his own,

what foolishness had led to Manuel’s treachery?

4. What did Buck lack on the express car which caused him severe suffering and inflamed

his anger?

5. On his trip to Seattle, what did Buck resolve he would never allow to happen again?


Call of The WildInto the Primitive, Page 2

6. How (and with what) did Druther introduce Buck to the reign of primitive law?

7. Define conciliate:

8. Although Perrault thought Buck was “One in ten thousand,” what does he pay for

the dog?

9. When Buck disembarked from the Narwhal, what did he discover that “bit like fire” and

then was gone?


Cali BuCk Yukon BuCk

Call of The WildProject—Two Bucks Look back over the chapter and list as many characteristics of Buck’s life in California as you can find, then list all the descriptions the author gives of Buck’s life after he was stolen.

Using these lists, write a short essay on the changes in Buck’s life. The first paragraph should focus on Buck’s life at the Millers’ place and the second paragraph should focus on Buck’s life after he was stolen. The third paragraph should contain what you believe are the pros and cons of living “the life of a sated aristocrat,” as Jack London wrote. The fourth should contain the pros and cons of the rough ways of life outside the Millers’ property.


Call of The WildThe Law of Club and Fang

1. What happened to Curly that graphically illustrated to Buck that he had been “jerked

from the heart of civilization and flung into the heart of things primordial”?

2. What compliment did François give to Buck in conversation with Perrault after Buck’s

first lessons in being a sled dog?

3. What peculiarity about Angry One did Buck unwittingly discover?

4. What lesson did Billee

teach Buck?


Call of The WildThe Law of Club and Fang, Page 2

5. When Buck woke the following morning a great fear swept through him. What was

Buck afraid of, why was it impossible for Buck to know about this fear, and how does

the omniscient narrator explain it?

6. Who were Buck’s teachers on the trail toward the Dyea Cañon?

7. What was Buck fed every day?

8. What “vain thing and a handicap” from the Southland crumbled in the wake of Buck’s

theft of Perrault’s bacon?

9. What does the author offer as justification for Buck’s stealing?

10. List the fruits of Buck’s “retrogression.”


Call of The WildProject—Gold Rush Stamp

The Klondike Gold Rush was a frenzy of gold prospecting in the late 19th century along the Klondike River near Dawson City in the Yukon Territory of Canada. The rush began in August 1896 when Skookum Jim Mason, his sis-ter Kate and her husband George Carmack discov-ered rich placer gold deposits in what would one day be called Bonanza Creek. In the space provided, design a stamp based on the Klondike Gold Rush.


Call of The WildThe Dominant Primordial Beast

1. Why did Spitz let no opportunity pass to bare his teeth at Buck?

2. What unexpected interruption postponed the fight on the shore of Lake Le Barge

between Buck and Spitz?

3. What happened to the food supply at Lake Le Barge?

4. How long did it take the team to travel the terrible length of Thirty Mile River?

5. What sacrificial gift did François make for Buck?

6. What happened to Dolly?

7. Why did Buck want leadership of the team?


Call of The WildThe Dominant Primordial Beast, Page 2

8. Who was at the bottom of the covert mutiny that began as they grew closer to Dawson?

9. What did the chase for the snowshoe rabbit ultimately lead to?

10. What quality did Buck possess besides instinct that made for greatness, and how did he

display that quality at the mouth of Tahkeena?


Call of The WildProject—Cartoon

Draw a comic strip depicting the battle between Buck and Spitz.


Call of The WildWho Has Won to Mastership

1. Following the death of Spitz, who did François think was the best lead dog in the wake

of losing Spitz?

2. Why did François and Perrault curse Buck, his fathers and mothers and all of his seed

down to remotest generation?

3. What happened to the team under Buck’s leadership by the time they reached

Rink Rapids?

4. Describe the parting of François from Buck in Skagway.

5. Describe the visions Buck would have by the fire

of another world.


Call of The WildWho Has Won to Mastership, Page 2

6. What happened to Dave?

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